Superman Without His Powers
by DjDangerLove
Summary: "Peter Burke takes pride in his name, the name to which he has brought no shame. Now he has to fight to keep it. A battle he is willing to participate in, but before he can fight he has to find his powers." One-Shot. Neal Whumpage


**One- shot based on a line Neal said in Burke's Seven. **

**For the purpose of this story, it takes place after Peter's badge was taken away because of the print found on Larson's gun in Burke's Seven, but nothing more from that episode is used. **

**I do not own White Collar, but I do own a heart that loves it.**

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><p>"<em><strong>He's like Superman without his powers."<strong>_

Peter Burke takes pride in his name, the name to which he has brought no shame. Now he has to fight to keep it. A battle he is willing to participate in, but before he can fight he has to find his powers.

He no longer held the badge of authority, his holster showed the absence of his weapon. In what seemed like a fraction of a second, his status as an FBI agent, everything he worked so hard for was taken away by evidence, damning evidence, that he had no clue how to explain. His fingerprints appearing on the gun used to, thankfully attempt to, steal the life away from Mozzie could only be the result of being set up. He knew he had to clear his own name, for the FBI, no matter their brilliance, would never be able to prove the truth.

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><p>Neal Caffrey sat on a dusty, hard floor with his back propped up against a cold wall. His black slacks had freshly torn holes in them which revealed scratches, some deep gashes as well, on his thin, shaky legs. His left pant leg was raised just enough to confirm his worst fear. His tracking anklet was gone. He gave a small laugh at the irony, but stopped as pain burst throughout his chest.<p>

He shivered as cool air blew his unruly hair and his thin, white t-shirt did nothing to protect him from the unwanted presence of the air condition. He silently wished he had the rest of his suit, especially since his phone had been in his suit jacket, but after another look at his pants he began to dismiss the idea, not wanting to see the condition of the rest of it.

His mind began to wandered to an unfamiliar place, since he already came to the conclusion he wouldn't be escaping this nightmare if it were solely left up to him to do so. Neal Caffrey is not dependent on anyone, never has been, never wants to be, but now he knows that the only way he will make it out of this is by someone else, not because he doesn't want to or know how, but because he can't save himself, physically or mentally.

As his mind began to lose its hold on coherency and what felt like to Neal, his sanity, he closed his eyes, silently pleading for a miracle to happen. With his tracker gone, the FBI wouldn't be finding him anytime soon.

But the worst part about the whole situation was that, with Peter on suspension until the investigation was over to clear his name, the one person that could find him, suddenly became the one person who couldn't. Neal thought, "_It is like telling Clark Kent to save someone without using his powers." _ But no matter, Neal still pleaded for his miracle, for Peter Burke to save him.

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><p>Peter Burke wasn't a man to go rogue, but give him enough reason and he just might. After all, he has learned a thing or two from the best of the best of conmen, though he would never actually admit it to anyone. He didn't do anything incriminating, at least anything the FBI could find or prove. He shook his head to clear a voice that sounded just like Neal's when he was trying to worm his way out of something. Thankfully, another voice broke him away from his thoughts, this one belonging to a short, bald man he was thankful to see alive.<p>

"Save him, Suit." That was all Mozzie said, before handing Peter a small card that held an address. Peter only nodded, before sprinting to his car while calling Diana and Jones.

Neal Caffrey had done a lot of things in his life, but none that he felt justified the cruel trick his mind played out before him. In what was probably going to be the last hours of his life, the mirage of what he silently had been begging for appeared before him, but it wasn't real.

"Neal?"

But it sounded so real and through blurry vision the man crouched down before him looked real too.

"Neal? Buddy, you with me?"

It was only till a warm hand touched the side of his face that he refused to believe in the trick his mind was playing on him. He still believed that it was nothing but a hallucination, but thinking he was going to die anyway, he saw nothing wrong with giving in.

"P'ter."

That one word, so small and slurred, ripped through Peter. It was filled with relief, yet a hint of uncertainty. Peter was about to respond, but something wet hit his hand that was holding the left side of Neal's face. He expected to see blood, but was more unnerved by what he saw. Instead of red droplets, it was clear tears mixed with dirt and grime that was picked up as they streaked down the younger man's face.

He turned the ex-conman's face towards him, but Neal still refused to look at him.

"Neal, look at me." Peter ordered firmly.

Finally, glassy eyes were turned to him.

Carefully taking one of Neal's battered hands in his own, Peter slowly lifted it and held it to his chest, while the other cupped the back of Neal's neck.

"I'm right here, Neal." Peter stated leaving no room for doubt. "I'm real."

Realization was a slow process for Neal, but once Peter saw it in his eyes, the younger man struggled to speak, but the agent waited.

"I..guesss y-you found...your p-powers."

Peter looked at him with concern and amusement, it was obvious Neal wasn't one hundred percent coherent, but the fact Neal referred to his status as an FBI agent as super powers humored him and made him feel a bit more proud of his name.

"I did." Peter said, his tone now soft, as he carefully sat down next to his friend and pulled him close. He saw Diana in the doorway, her face showing concern. He watched as she mouthed "Caught him. Ambulance and back up on the way.", before turning his attention back to his consultant in his arms. "But I still don't have my badge and gun."

Seconds of silence passed, before a small grin made its way onto Neal's face.

"Y-you're like... S-Superman without ...his powers."

Peter raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

More silence washed over them and after a minute or so, Peter looked down at his friend whose head was resting on his shoulder and his eyes closed. Fearing that the younger man had passed out and given into unconsciousness, he gently nudged him.

"Neal?"

Neal groaned as his head fell to Peter's chest, then answered,

"Because...even wi-without your powers...p-people still want you to be the one to save them."

With that Neal gave into unconsciousness, and Peter held him even tighter as sirens could be heard.

"I'll always save you."

Peter Burke takes pride in his name, the name to which he has brought no shame. Now he has to fight to keep it. A battle he is willing to participate in, now that he has his powers, or as he likes to call them, his family.

**AN: No, I'm not dead. But I did stop writing White Collar fanfiction, I just enjoyed reading it far more than writing while it was on break but now that its back I feel like I have more motivation and inspiration. I'm just sooooo glad its back! :) :) I can't wait! Anyway! I would greatly appreciate any feedback! Thanks for reading! :) **


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